Apparatus for coiling strip material



F. C. BlGGERTgJR APPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP MATERIAL Filed April 21, 1922 INVENTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 W 42" M 2, M

Mayfi 1924.

F. c. BIGGER]; JR

APPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP MATERIAL Filed April 21 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. C. BIGGERT, JR

APPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP MATERIAL Filed April 21, 1922' 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 3,492,954 F. c. BIGGERT. JR

APPARATUS FOR COILING STRIP MATERIAL Filed April 21 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR I Q r/w i M Q 'jrg Patented May 5, i924.

FLORENCE C. BIGGERT, JR... OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T UNITED ENGINEERING & FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR- PORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

AZPPARATUS FOR. COILING STRIP MATERIAL.

Application filed April 21, 1922. Serial No. 555,890.

T 0 (1]? whom it "my concern: The frame is provided adjacent. one end Be it known that I, Fmnnxon C. Bruonn'r, thereof with side members 9 and 10 having Jr" a citizen of the United States. residing peripheral flanges 11 and 12. respectively, in Pittsburgh. in the county of Allegheny and formed with openings in the sides 5 and State of Pennsylvania. have invented a thereof throughwhich. one end of the shaft new and useful Improvement in Apparatus 2 may project. A cage 13 is rotatably for Coiling Strip Material. of which the folmounted between the members 9 and 10 and lowing is a full. clear, and exact description. is held in position by retaining rings 14 se- Mv invention relates to method of and cured to the side members in suitable man- 10 apparatus for coiling strip or other maner. as by bolts 15.

terial. By the use of my invention, such Mounted on that end of the shaft 2 which material may be coiled while hot or cold. lies between the side members 9 and 10 is The material may be taken from the hot a cylindrical collapsible drum composed of bed or table. or direct from the mill. One similar sections 16. 17 and 18. This end of the principal reasons for coiling such of the shaft is tapered, as clearly shown in material is for convenience in handling, Figures 4 and S, and the inner sides of the "0 storing. and shipping the same. Such ma- Sections 16. 17 and l8 are shaped to fit this terial is sometimes coiled for the purpose of portion of the shaft. Keys 19 are fitted in breaking the scale thereon, so as to afford the tapered end of the shaft and are. held in better access of the pickling solution. position by screws 20, as shown in Figure My invention will be better understood 4. The drum sections are provided with by reference to the following description in grooves into which the outer edges of the connection with the accompanying drawkeys 19 fit, the shape of the keys and ings forming a part thereof and in which grooves being such as to hold the sections Figure- 1 is a side elevation of a machine against circumferential or radial movement embodying my invention, with certain parts with repect to the shaft. lVith this conbroken away; struction. when the sections are moved lon- Figure 2 is an end elevat on of the. magltudinally of the tapered portion of the chine. partly 1n section; shaft, they are moved outwardly or drawn Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 inwardly to enlarge or reduce the total dishowmg a coil of material wound in the ameter of the drum formed thereby, de-

machine; pending upon the direction of movement Figure 4 is a partial section of means for with respect to the shaft. The side memoperating the collapsible drum; hers 9 and 10 are held in fixed relation to Figure 5 is a front view of the guide; each other on opposite sides of the collapsi- Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of ble drum by spacing sleeves 21, through the keys on the drum: which are passed bolts 22. as clearly shown Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view of the in Figures land 2. pinch rolls and guide; Rotatably carried between the side mem- Fi 'ure S is a )artial section of the drum hers 9 and 10. on rods 33. is a series of hell e o u l n 0 wherein provision has been made. for tying crank levers. each having a hub 2-0 with the material before removing it from the promoting arms 21- and 27. Between the drum; and arms 2% of the bell crank levers are rods 25 Figure 9 is a section of modified means serving as shafts for rollers '26 adapted to ior collapsmp the drum. bear against the periphery of the collapsi- In the embodiment of the invention illusble drum or against the material wound trated in the drawings, there is shown a thereon. Between the arms 27 of the bell machine comprising a frame 1 carrying a cranks are bearing blocks 28 provided with shaft 2 in bearings 3 and 4. Mounted on studs 29 extending into openings in the one end of the shaft 2 is a slip gear 50f outer ends of the arms 27. Tension bolts any usual construction driven by a motor 30 pass through openings in the blocks 28, \3 through a ninion 7. The gear train beand. through openings in lugs 31 on the cage tween the motor and the shaft may be en- 13, and carry compression springs 32 closed by a protective casing 8. around their intermediate portions. These springs form a. resilient connection, permitting relative movement between the bell crank levers and the cage, and act to hold the rollers 26 in contact with the drum or the material 34 as it is wound thereon.

For moving the cage circiunferentially with respect to the side members 9 and 16' for exerting a greater or a less degree of compression on the springs it may be provided with a lag 35 to which is operatively connected the piston 38 of a cylinder 36 by means of an intermediate link 37 having a pivotal connection. at each end. A uide block 39 may be provided for relievmg the piston rod 38 of any side strains.

Means for collapsing. the drum are shown in Figures 1 and 4, and comprise a cylinder 40 mounted on the frame 1. A piston rod 41 connects with a slide block 42 mounted to slide on the frame 1 in guides 43. Rods 44 are each fastened at one end in the block 42, and at the other end to a pusher ring 45 which surrounds one end of the drum. The ring 45 is provided with an inwardly projecting flange 46 which engages a stripping ring 47, as shown in Figure 4. Usually four rods 44 are employed and are fastened equidistant around the ring 45. The block 42 straddles the shaft 2, thus placing two of the rods 44 on each side of the shaft. The rods 44 are fastened to lugs 48 on the ring 45 and positively actuate the ring for engaging flanges 49 on the sections 16, 17 and 18 of the drum. The stripping ring 47 is provided with fingers 50 which slide in corresponding grooves in the sections of the drum. The function of these fingers will appear later.

A spring ring 51 surrounds the shaft 2 adjacent the ends of the drum sections. Pins 52 are rigidly mounted in the ring 51 and are surrounded by springs 53. The ends of the springs 53 bear against the ring 51 and the fixed support 54 carried by the frame 1. The pins 52 extend through openings in the support 54.

A guide 55 for the material being coiled is mounted on one of the hubs 23. as shown in Figures 2 and 3. This guide is movable with the hub whereby its position depends upon the amount of material which has been Wound upon the drum, so that its position is automatically determined by the material as it is Wound on the drum.

The material is fed into the coiling machine by pinch rolls 56 which are positively driven by any suitable means. not shown. The speed of the rolls 56 is such as to place the material, between the rolls and the drum, under considerable tension. This arrangement provides the advantages of cansing the material to be tightly wound on the drum, removing many irregularities in the material by stretching the same, and also avoiding buckling.

W'hen springy material is wound on the drum, there is a tendency for the convolutions to unwind. In such cases it may be desirable to bind the coiled material before it is removed from the drum. The sections of the drum are therefore provided with grooves 57 through which binding wires 58 may be passed, as shown in Figure 8. These wires when tied around the coiled material prevent the unwinding of the (1011' vohitions.

There is a possibility that the sort-ions of the. drum might stick and the drum therefore not collapse. Means are shown in Figure 9 for overcoming this possibility. The parts shown in Figure 9 which correspond to parts shown in Figure 4 are marked with the same numerals with the exponent a attached. In addition to the parts shown in Figure 4, the support 54 carries levers 59 on the free ends of which are mounted rollers 60. The rollers 60 engage with the pusher ring 45. Links 61 connect at one end with the levers 59 and at the other end with latches 62. Springs 63 engage the ends of the latches 62, as shown in Figure 9. The latches 62 engage the spring ring 51 for a purpose which will appear under the operation of the device.

The operation is as follows:

The pinch rolls 56 and the shaft 2 are rotated. The material passes from the pinch rolls through the guide 55 onto the drum and is forced between the drum and the top roller 26. The rotation of the drum causes the end of the material to pass successively under the other rollers 26. The material as it passes from one roller to the next is guided by extensions on the arms 24. The speed of the drum is such. relative to that of the pinch rolls, as to place the material 34 under tension. and the rollers 26 bear against the material, thus holding it firmly against the drum and acting to increase the friction between the drum and material. During the coiling operation, air or other pressure is admitted to the cylinder 36, thus tending to hold the cage 13 in the position shown in Figure 2, and thus placing the springs 32 under compression. As the material is wound upon the drum, the diameter increases. This causes the bell cranks to rotate in a clockwise direction around the rods 33. This movement of the arms causes a further compression of the springs 32, which in turn act to correspondingly rotate the cage 13 in a clockwise direction so that when the coil has been substantially completed the parts take the position shown in Figure 3. From this figure it will be noted that the lug 35 on the cage 13 has moved from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure 3 against the pressure which is maintained in the cylinder 36. As the coil increases in diameter, the guide 55 is also rotated around the rod 33 from the position shown in -Figure 2 to that. shown in Figure 3. After the coil is com leted, it is removed from the drum by col apsing the drum and pushing the. coil ofi' of the drum through the opening in the side member 9. Before attempting to push the coil from the drum, pressure is reveised in the cylinder 36 and the cage 13 moved to relieve the compression in the springs 32 and, through the bolts 30, to rotate the bell cranks around the rods 33 and remove the rollers 26 from contact with the coiled material. \Vhile the parts are held in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, pressure is admitted to the cylinder 40 and the block 42 is moved to the right, as viewed in Figure 1. This movement is transmitted through the rods 44 to the pusher ring 45. This causes the ring 45 to move to the right as viewed in Figure 4, whereupon the stripping ring 47 is also moved to the right. Upon the movement. of the ring 45, the springs 53 are released, whereupon they push the spring ring 51 into engagement with the ends of the drum sections 16, 17 and 18. This causes these sections to move on the tapered end of the shaft 2, whereupon the keys 19 cause the sections to contract or collapse, thus releasing the coiled material from the drum. This action takes place before the stripping ring 47 engages the coiled material. After the sections have been moved so that the are collapsed, the spring ring 51 engages a shoulder on the shaft 3 and the movement; of the sections is arrested. The stripping ring 47 however continues its movement. until the coiled material is entirely removed from the drum. In order to assure the engagement of the stripping ring with the innermost coil on the drum, fingers 50 are placed on the ring 47 and move in slots in these sections. These fingers, therefore, engage the material and insure its removal from the drum.

It springy material has been coiled upon the drum, binding wires 58 are placed around the coiled material to hold the same before the drum is collapsed.

After the coil is removed from the drum, the pressure in the cylinder 40 is reversed and the rings 45 and 47 are moved back to the position shown in Figure 4. The movement of these rings carries the sections back because of the engagement of the ring 47 with the flanges 49 on the sections. The parts are then held in the position shown in Figure 4 by the pressure maintained in the cylinder 40. The pressure in the cylinder 36 may be relieved at any time after the material is removed from the drum. Upon the reversal of the pressure in the cylinder 36, the parts assume the position shown in Figure 2. By the provision of the slip gear 5 a substantially constant surface speed is imparted to the material as it is fed upon a drmn of constantly increasing diameter. This arrangement produces a substantially constant tension upon the material as it is wound, regardless of the change in the efi'ective diameter of the drmn.

The operation of the means shown ill Figure 9 is as follows:

The parts being in the position shown, the ring 45 is moved to the right as 'before. This carries with it the ring 47. The spring ring 51 is held in the position shown by the latches 62. The ring 51 remains in the position shown until the rollers 60 on the levers 59 ride upon the projection on the ring 45.

\Vhen'the rollers 60 have reached the top of the projection, the latches 62 release the ring 51 and the springs 53 expand and force the ring 51 against the ends of the drum sections 16, 17 and 18 with a hammer blow, thus assuring the initial movement of the sections on the shaft. This arrangement overcomes any failure to collapse the drum by the sticking of the sections on the shaft. It will be noted that the ring 45 has been moved beyond the ends of the drum sections before the ring 51 is released, so that the ring engages the ends of the sections to collapse the same.

In resetting the device shown in Figure 9, the parts are moved to the position shown. That is to say, the ring 45 is moved to the left suliiciently to expand the sections and also to carry the spring ring 51 back tar enoughto be held in place by the latches G2. The ring 45 is then held in the position shown by maintaining the pressure in the cylinder 40.

In both the arrangements shown in the drawings, a latch may be provided for holding the ring 45 or 45 in the position shown in Figures 4 and 9, respectively, whereupon the pressure may be released from the cylinder 40.

My invention has many advantages resulting from the arrangement and coordination of the parts shown and described. Among the advantages may be mentioned that a simple and practical machine is provided for coiling strip material. either hot or cold while under tension, thus tightly winding the same on the drum and removing many irregularities from the material. Positive means are provided for collapsing the drum and removing the material, and means are provided for pressing the material during the coiling.

IVhile I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention in detail. I desire it. to be understood that I am not limited in the exact arrangement shown and described, as many changes may be made in the construction illustrated without departing from the spirit of my invention or scope of my broader claims. While I have described cylinders as the motive power for certain elements, I desire it to be understood that any other form of motive power may be used.

I claim:

1. In a coiler, a rotatable drum, pressure actuated means adapted to engage said drum or the material thereon, and means for moving said pressure actuated means out of engagement with said drum or material. said pressure actuated means being each individually movable relative to said second mentioned means. substantially as described.

2. In acoiler, a rotatable drum, pressureactuated means adapted to engage said drum or the material thereon and yield relatively and independently during the coiling operation, yielding means for simultaneously moving all of said means out of engagement with said drum or material, and means for pushing the coiled material from the coiler, substantially as described.

3. I11 :1 coiler, a rotatable drum, pressureaetuated means adapted to engage said drum or the material thereon and yield relatively and independently during thecoiling operation, yielding means for simultaneously moving all of said means out of engagement with said drum or the material thereon, andmeans for removing the coiled material endwise from the drum, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a coiler, a collapsible drum, means for rotating said drum to give a substantially constant surface speed to the material as it is wound thereon, spring-actuated rollers adapted to engage said material and yield relatively and independently during the coiling operation, and means for maintaining the compression on said springs substantially constant throughout the coiling operation, substantially as described.

5. In a coiler, a collapsible drum comprising a plurality of sections, a core for said sections, keys connecting said core and sections to positively contract or expand said sections upon relative movement between the core and sections, and impact-operated means for producing such relative movement, substantially as described.

6. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring and adapted to engage said drum, and

spring connections between said pivoted members and said cage, substantially as described.

7. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring, rollers in one of the ends of said members, spring members connecting the other ends of said pivoted members to said cage and acting to hold said rollers in engagement with said drum or material wound thereon and means compensating for the compression of said spring members, substantially as described.

8. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring, rollers in one of the ends of said members, spring members connecting the other ends of said pivoted members to said cage and acting to hold said rollers in engagement with said drum or material wound thereon, and means for removing said rollers from contact with said drum or material thereon, substantially as described.

9. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring, rollers in one of the ends of said members, spring membersronnecting the other ends of said pivoted members to said cage and acting to hold said rollers in engagement with said drum or material wound thereon, and means for rotating said cage to remove said rollers from contact with said drum or material thereon, substantially as described.

10. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring, rollers in one of the ends of said members, spring members connecting the other ends of said pivoted members to said cage and acting to hold said rollers in engagement with said drum or material wound thereon, and means for rotating said cage to decrease the compression on said springs to remove said rollers from contact with said drum or material thereon, substantially as described.

11. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring, rollers in one of the ends of said members, spring members connecting the other ends of said pivoted members to said cage and acting to hold said rollers in engagement with said drum or material wound thereon, and means for varying the pressure between said rollers and drum, substantially as described.

12. In a coiler, a drum, rollers adapted to engage said drum or the material thereon, and yielding means resiliently connected to said rollers for changing the pressure between the rollers and said drum or material, each of said rollers being movable independently of the others during the coiling operation, substantially as described.

13. In a coiler, a drum, rollers adapted to engage said drum or material thereon, resilient means for pressing said rollers against the drum or material, and yielding means operative through said resilient means for simultaneously changing the pressure exerted by all of said resilient means, substantially as described.

- off the said drum, substantiall as described.

in I

15. In a coiler, a collapsib e drum comprising a plurality of sections and a core for expanding and collapsing said sections, and

means for removing material from said drum comprising impact means for moving said sections and core relative toeach other and means for engaging said material and removing it from the drum while collapsed, substantially as described.

16. In a coiler, a collapsible drum, means for winding materialon said drum, means for removing material from said drum 'comprising means for producing a hammer blow to initiate the collapsing movement of said drum members and engage said material to remove it from the collapsed drum, substantially as described.

17. In a' coiler, a frame comprising side members having openings therethrough, a

ferentially relative to said drum, substan-,

tially as described.

"19. In a coiler, a shaft, a drum carried thereby, impact means for moving said drum longitudinally of the shaft for collapsing the same, and means for moving a coil longitudinally of the drum, substantially as described.

20. In a coiler, a shaft having a tapered portion, drum sections cooperating with said tapered portion, impact means for producing relative movement between said sections and the shaft for collapsing the drum, and

means for moving a coil longitudinally of the collapsing drum, substantially as described. I

21. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring, rollers in one of the ends of said members, spring members connecting the other ends of said pivoted members to said cage and acting to hold said rollers in engagement with said drum or material wound thereon, and means for releasing the compression on said springs and removing said rollers from contact with said drumor material thereon, substantially as described.

22. In a coiler, a fixed ring, a drum inside said ring, a rotatable cage surrounding said drum, members pivotally mounted on said ring, rollers in one of the ends of said members, springs connecting the other ends of said pivoted members to said cage and acting to hold said rollers in engagement with said drum or material thereon, and means effective through said springs for varying the pressure between said rollers and drum, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FLORENCE c. BIGGERT, JR. 

